


Happy Father’s Day, Mr. Stark

by downeylove



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: F/M, Father-Son Relationship, Iron Dad, Other, Tony is Peter's Dad, spider son
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 08:29:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16489169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/downeylove/pseuds/downeylove
Summary: Father's Day isn't Tony's happiest memory. Until he meets Peter.





	Happy Father’s Day, Mr. Stark

Tony remembers how Father’s Day went when he was a kid. Before he’d been shipped off to boarding school, it usually meant hours spent on a project for his dad, only for it to be ignored or tossed aside with little thought or recognition.

Not even so much as a ‘thank you’.

Then his parents would argue, and he’d spend the day by himself, growing more and more bitter toward his father until he inevitably left for school and never bothered to so much as wish him a Happy Father’s day since he was about seven years old.

So, Father’s Day doesn’t make the list of his all time favorite memories. In fact, most of his childhood doesn’t really make that list either. And his history with his father makes him question whether or not he’d be a suitable parent for his own children in the future. Pepper knows it’s his greatest fear, and there isn’t much she can do to convince him that he’d be a great dad in spite of the way his father treated him.

Because watching him with Peter is a sight to behold. For a man who claims to be a potentially horrible dad, the title fits him like a glove.

“Mr. Stark! I nailed my Physics final!” Peter exclaims as he darts into the workshop, tossing his backpack into the corner.

Pepper sits on the couch, her StarkPad resting in her lap while she briefs Tony on the state of his company. She smiles at Peter when he greets her.

“Hey, good work, kid. Told you you’d be fine,” Tony swivels in his chair and grins, “How about your other tests?”

“A plus in Math, A minus in Shop, B in P.E.–“ Peter starts listing his final grades for the year, ticking them off on his fingers.

“B in P.E.? You’re enhanced how’d you get a B?” Tony asks, puzzled.

“Well, I try to dull it down. I mean, I always did okay in gym, but it’d be weird if I was suddenly doing extremely well, y’know?” Peter explains.

“Right, continue,” Tony waves him on.

“Uh– A plus in Economics, A in Photography, A plus in History, and a B minus in Spanish,” Peter finishes, looking sheepish.

“Looks like we need to brush up on that Spanish for next year,” Tony offers, “But hey, still incredible. Good job, Pete.” Tony pats him on the back with a grin.

Peter beams up at him and sits in the chair next to Tony, “What’s this?” He nods at the screens.

Tony snaps his fingers and spins the holographic display of Peter’s suit, “Just doing some upgrades. I think of new webshooter combinations every day. Might as well add them. Can’t hurt, right?”

Peter nods eagerly, “As long as I get a chance to test them out first.”

“Obviously.”

Pepper watches them from her position on the couch with a fond smile. Now that Peter’s out of school, she knows how much time he’ll be spending at the Tower with them, and she doesn’t mind one bit.

When he’s around, Tony is more at ease. He worries about Peter constantly, and if Peter’s with him he doesn’t have to. He’s become far more protective of the budding superhero than she ever thought he could be. Which is why she’s glad to have him around. He brings out the best in Tony, and above all, showcases his strong desire to be a father.

The day before Father’s Day is always a day of preparation for Pepper. She goes to great lengths to make sure there is only one bottle of alcohol within reach, and goes even further to make sure they spend as little time at home as possible. So when Peter walks in, she’s more than a little bit surprised to see him, breaking out of her pre-Father’s Day routine.

“Hi, Peter. I didn’t know you were dropping by today,” Pepper says with a smile as she piles bottles from the bar into a box to be hidden somewhere in the tower.

“Well, I wasn’t going to, but–“ he scratches the back of his head sheepishly, “I know Mr. Stark is at that meeting and I just wanted to ask you something when he wasn’t around.”

Pepper leans against the granite counter, tilting her head curiously, “What’s up?”

“Um– I was wondering if–if you’d give this to him?” Peter pulls off his backpack and rummages around for a moment before locating an envelope and a thin rectangular package wrapped in plain butcher paper and adorned with a red and gold bow, “It’s–um, it’s for Father’s Day,” he says timidly, his face colored red with his embarrassment.

Pepper takes the present and what she assumes to be a card, setting them on the counter. Her eyes grow misty and she swallows the lump in her throat, “Of course I will, Peter.”

Noticing her distress, Peter’s eyes widen, “I’m sorry! I–I didn’t mean to upset you! I’ll just take them back,” he begins to reach for them but Pepper pulls him into a hug instead.

“Don’t you dare be sorry, Peter Parker. He’s going to love them,” Pepper rubs his back soothingly before releasing him, “But I think he’d like it if you gave them to him yourself.”

Peter scratches behind his ear nervously. He’d already been a little bit leery about giving Mr. Stark a Father’s Day gift in the first place, but after giving it more thought, he decided it’s the only way he can truly thank Tony for everything he’s done for Peter and show him how much Tony means to him.

“I–I don’t know if I should,” Peter says quietly. “I don’t want him to think I think he’s my dad or anything. That would be weird, wouldn’t it?”

Pepper laughs and hands the gifts back to Peter, “I think you’re more likely to make him cry than to make him feel weird, Peter.”

He takes them and plays with the bow, “What if he hates it?”

“He won’t hate it,” Pepper says sympathetically, “If you’re really that worried, I’ll give it to him, but I know he’d love it of you gave it to him.”

After a quiet moment, Peter sighs, “No, no. I’ll do it. I guess I’ll just come back tomorrow.”

Pepper watches as he stuffs the card and present back into his backpack, “What’d you get him, anyways?”

Peter readjusts his backpack to fit on his shoulders, grinning, “You’ll have to wait and see.”

 

Tony wakes up on Father’s Day feeling more bitter than usual. After barely sleeping a wink and deciding to get an early start on this particularly miserable day, he elects to spend his time away from the bar – if only because he knows Pepper removed most of the liquor.

It’s in the shop that he spends most of his morning hunched over lines of code with a sour feeling in his chest. Then Pepper pries him away from his work and they have a nice night out, and Tony forgets what day it is for the most part. He forgets the ill feelings toward his father. Forgets his fears of  _ becoming _ a father.

When they return from a movie that they spent only fifteen minutes watching and the rest of the time making out shamelessly in the back row, Tony is surprised to see Peter situated on the sofa, his backpack in his lap.

“Pete?” Tony comes around to face Peter as Pepper breaks away and leaves them alone.

Peter jumps up, catching his backpack before it falls, “Hi, Mr. Stark.”

“What’s going on? You’re not usually here on Sundays,” Tony inquires.

Peter fidgets nervously with his backpack, staring down at his feet, “I just–“ he quickly opens the backpack and pulls out a card and a wrapped gift.

Tony blinks a few times until he registers what Peter is holding, “What–“

“I–I just wanted to–“ Peter heaves a sigh, not meeting Tony’s eyes and thrusting the card and present into Tony’s hands.

“You didn’t have to do this, Peter,” Tony says quietly

Peter finally looks at Tony, his eyes wide with embarrassment, “You’re right, I–I shouldn’t have come. I’m sorry Mr. Stark. I’ll–I’ll just go.” Peter makes to grab the presents back from Tony.

He yanks them away from Peter, pressing a hand to his chest, “Hey, calm down, Kid. That’s not what I meant,” Tony grips his shoulder and nods toward the workshop, “Come on.”

He leads Peter to their usual workspace and sits on a stool. When he takes a closer look at the wrapping paper and bow, Tony already knows he might not make it out of this situation without shedding a few tears.

Peter sits on the stool next to Tony. He keeps his eyes downcast as he plays with the cuff of his hoodie.

Tony opens the envelope first, pulling out the card within. The front reads,  _ Dad, thanks for always being a FUNGI _ . He laughs quietly before opening the card. Inside, it says,  _ Happy Father’s Day _ .

Beneath the greeting is a short paragraph in Peter’s neat script. Tony can feel his throat closing up as he begins to read.

_ Mr. Stark, thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I wouldn’t be the Spider-Man I am today without you. It means a lot to me that you’ve taken an interest in my life and to know that you’re looking out for me. After losing my parents, and then Uncle Ben, I never thought there would be another parental figure who has my back the way Aunt May does, but I was wrong. Thanks for everything. Love, Peter _

Once he’s done, Tony rubs the tears from his eyes as he sets the card down. Peter still isn’t looking at him.

Tony turns to the package and gently rips it open. He peels the bow off and sticks it on one of the monitors in front of him. When he gets the paper off, he nearly drops what he’s holding. It’s a sleek metal picture frame housing a photo of the two of them.

In it, Tony is showing Peter how to use the soldering pens to repair his suit. Peter’s focusing on his work and Tony is smiling fondly down at the boy. He’s not sure how Peter got the photo, but he’s glad he did. It captures them in their natural environment. When they’re at their happiest.

Tony sets it on his desk and clears the lump in his throat. He swivels on his stool and stares at Peter. Feeling his eyes on him, Peter slowly lifts his eyes to look at him.

“Happy Father’s Day?” He says sheepishly.

Any doubts Peter had about his gift vanish when Tony pulls him into a firm hug. His arms catch around him and Tony’s hand rests against the back of his neck to hold him in place. Peter pretends not to feel Tony’s tears splash into his hair, and nestles his face into his shoulder.

“Thanks, Pete,” Tony whispers hoarsely.

Although his past Father’s Days hadn’t been the happiest of memories, Peter had managed to change Tony’s view of it with a simple note and a picture. Because he never thought he could feel such undeniable love for a kid who wasn’t even his own. And though Peter isn’t his biologically, he wouldn’t hesitate to treat him as such.

When they pry themselves away from each other, Tony keeps his hand on Peter’s shoulder.

“You hungry?”

Peter grins up at him, his eyes crinkling, “Starving.”

Tony waves him forward to head to the kitchen, and before following him out, he peers down at the photo again. He grins down at it and sweeps aside an empty spot for it on his usual desk. If this annual trend of Father’s Day gift giving keeps up, he’ll have to make space for more gifts from Peter.

It’s a sacrifice he’s more than willing to make.


End file.
